Mill for rolling shapes.



Mar. 13,1923.` 1,448,371 G. BA1-:HR

' MILL FOR ROLLING sHAPEs Filed July 3l, 1918 5 sheet-sheet 1 Mar. 13, 1923. 1,448,371

` G. BAEHR l MILL FOR ROLLING SHAPES dFiled July 3l, 191B 5 sheejosl-sheet 2 WITNESSES INVENTOR Patented Mar. 13, 1923.

`einem Breen-orrififrswiien, P'Eiirsimvimi.

MILL i'iron RonLiNGf sHirrEs.

#Application filed July 31,

To, all who/mit may/concern.' f c Be it `known that I, GEORGE BAEHR, ajresident of "Pittsburgh, in the-:county .of ,Alle-` gheny: and` State of P enn'sylvaiiia,y have, invented a new ,and useful'ImprovementSin Mills for `Rolling; Shapes,` of which .the f followingis a specification. t

This invention relates to rolling mills. Among the objects of the invention :are the provision of roll housings,iin `which ,two or more fsetsV of co-operatingrolls of different sizes may be mounted; the provision of means for positivelyco'nnecting the .rolls's'o thatthey `vvill always turn in exact'synchronisinigsineans for adjusting :and locking'the rolls improper circumferential registry; and ineansfor feedingblanks, tothe rollsat` different speeds, according to; theisize andshape of vcross section of :the finishedipart `being rolled. u u

`Referring to lthe drawings, Fig. l listan endielevation of the roll housing, adjusting and *feeding mechanism ,.Fig. 2 is ai diagrammatic illustration-.of the variable feed control motor; lFig. 3 isinfparta-.side elevation and in part a central vertical section on'the line 3-3 of Fig. l; Fig-4f is v.an iiisideelevation of ithe roll J housing showing .the mounting of' one of the roll shafts i therein; Fig. 5 is a detail elevation of'adriving gear Wheel adapted to beicl'amped` on `one of-tlie roll shafts; Fig. 6 is "a detail eleva'tiomof the A gear. wheel .of :Fig y5, as i applied to the shaft and Withy its adjusting means iniplace;

In certain copending application, Serial No.247,658, filedJuly 31, 1918, and Patent No. 1,289,602, lI haveidescribed a'coin'poste roll having removable 'surface' -nieuibers,`

Such rolls arehighly eiiicient for 191s. serial N'o. 247,659.

the cri-,operating rolls adapted ,toproduce a finished articleofvarying cross section must be a multiple ,ofitlie length ofithe article itfself. Forpigoducin-g bracesJ for .aeroplane 2Work, \vherein the rbodyis flattened orellip- .tical with round.- end portions adapted to be threadefchfit isidesirable to Iroll such braces as longias, fifteen feet. thus `requiring a roll ap ,proXiniatelyii-ve feet in diameter to make a complete brace at each revolution. lIn mail;- 4ingcrowbars, .or strings of chisels, .spjilreaor other. such Varticles 4of inuchylessy length, the roll `diameter maybe much less `than that necessary for aeroplane braces.v Consequently,.it is a distinctecononi'y to 'bef-able to :substitute rollsl of differentljfsizes in Ia single `stand or housing,` Aaccording tothe finished Work which ,gis to vbe done. avoids theV yWasteof i space, I and j. duplication of equipnieiitithatwould be necessary if a separate roll standhad tothe provided for eachclass of Work'to `be done. t y

One part of my invention dea-ls with the provisionof a roll support in which, rolls ofldifferent-sizesinay belmouiited and op erated.

:In rollingarticles of varying cross section` the 4faces of ythe :two :rolls .have vcooperating f'forininggrooves which register together, the grooves in theftworoll faces; torina. space of 'the-sainevarying cross section' as the'fi-nislied article formed f thereby inl .the rolling opera- -tionpindthe cliangesgofcro'ss section of the [groove in the roll 4faces must, register accurately asgthe'two co-operatingrolls rotate, Therefore I have providedv` means for4 positively connecting the shafts of the twogcooperating'rolls byigear yWheels,.so-.that they iriustturn` in exactsynchronism, andlsc that Sneitlierone canlag behind the other or be moved outl of registering relation by vibration' o'rrother causes ini operation.

IlWhen Vthe rolls are changed, and a .new

AThis A Yso pair put vinposition, itis aratlierdelicate operation to securethe exact registry `of oor- .responding portions of the varying forming grooves in the surfaces of the rolls, and

therefore I-'haveprovided a micrometer adi justinrg means -by which one of the rolls may be turned on itsshaft,andy locked in adjusted position',` Without disturbing the `other. roll, orthe train of gears .normally connecting theftrvo roll shafts. In rolling articles-such as -erowbara for example, Where the cross section of the finished article varies considerably at different points, as,`for example, the head of the crowbar compared with the end of the tapered handle, it is advantageous to vary the feed of the hot metal bar or blank which is supplied to he finishing rolls for forming the article being manufactured. vFor this purpose I provide a feed mechanism controlled by an electric motor, which is driven at varying speed, in accordance with the cross sectional changes of the finished article being formed. For example, in making the thick head portion thereof the feed motor is driven rapidly, so as to push the hot blank into the rolls to aid in supplying a sufficient amount of metal for that portion of the crowbar. In the smaller octagon portion of the crowbar, where less metal is required, the motor is driven slower, so as to feed metal to the rolls at a reduced speed, aboutv the speed of the rolls if the cross sectional area of the octagon portion is substantially equivalent to the cross sectional area of the l bar being fed. When the rolls come to the smaller handle portion of the crowbar, where less metal is required vin the finished article than is contained in the blank, the

motor isretarded, so that the forming rolls have to pull the metal from the feed rolls, the latter having a ret-arding effect.

These results are attained by a construction one form of which is illustrated in the drawings.

The whole apparatus is mounted on a concrete foundation 1, in the usual manner. A metal base plate 2 is bolted into the concrete, and upon this is bolted the base 3 of the roll stand, which comprises four upright members, oppositely disposed in pairs, 4 and 5, connected at their tops by cross members 6 and 7. Fig. 1 shows an end View of the roll stand, one of each of the pairs of supports 4 and 5 being seen. It will be understood that similar supports 4 and 5 are situated at the other end of the roll stand, directly behind the members 4 and 5 in this figure.

rlhe upright supports 4 and 5 have inner vertical faces 8, which at intervalsV have cooperating oppositely disposed horizontal notches 9 therein. 1

1n this frame, forming rolls 1() and 11 are mounted, keyed properly to shafts 12 and 13. rihe lower roll 10 is keyed on a shaft 12, and the upper roll 11 is keyed on a shaft 13 Their faces are substantially in contact, in the usual manner, and carry removable segmental shaping members 14 formed with beveled edges adapted to be retained under a supporting beveled collar 15, and on one side removable clampingbeveled ring 16, which on the other side is clamped to the side face of the roll by bolts 17, as more specifically described in my patent No. 1.289,602.

rigidly down upon the support 20.

the vertical supports 4 and 5 by means of cross members 21, which have lateral fianges 22 adapted to t into notches 9 in supports 4 and 5, as shown clearly in Fig. 4. Screws 23, having locking nuts 24, extend through the cross members 21 and engage the tops ofl the journal boxes 19, in order to clamp therln T e shaft 12 is extended toan outer bearing 25, mounted on the concrete foundation 1. The shaft 12 may be driven in any desired manner, as by a belt on pulley 26. A geared connection to a motor or any driven shaft may be used.

The upper roll 11 is supported by cross members 27, exactly similar to the members 21, above described. Flanges 22 fit into the upper set of opposite notches 9, and retaining plates 28 are bolted on to the frame, and to the members 27, t0 hold the support in proper position. Journal boxes 29 enclosing bearings 30 for shaft 13 are supported on coil springs 31, which rest at their lower ends on cross members 26,.as shown clearlyin Figs. 1 and 3. The upper sides of the journal boxes 29 rest against the lower ends of abutment members 32, threaded in thecross frame members 6, and held in rigid relation thereto by locking nuts 33, as Y shown in Fig. 3. This manner of mounting the bearings of shaft 13, permits an accurate adjustment of the roll 11 to contact with the roll 10, as will be obvious.A

The rolls may be adjusted axially to secure proper vertical alignment of the shaping grooves by means of set screws 28a mounted in plates 28 and having their inner ends contacting against the bearings of v*the roll shafts, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

When it is desired to use rolls of smaller diameter in the same stand, the rolls 10 and 11 are taken out, and the desired rolls substituted therefor, and these bearings are supported by means of the supporting notches 9 which are provided at such intervals, as to accommodate a number of different, sizes of rolls. As shown in the drawings, notches are provided for use with a set of rolls of exactly one-half the diameter of the rolls 10 and 11.

In substituting the smaller `rolls the cross supports 21 are moved up Afrom the notch in which they are shown engaged in Figs.

1 and 3, to the set of notches 9 just above their illustrated position, the support 2O is built up by blocks or otherwise to bring the journal boxes up to the new position of `the transverse supports 27 to the set of notches 9 just below that in which they are illustrated in Figs/1 and 3, and the abut-y ment screws 32 are turned downto the new position, until the roll faces are held in proper Contact. By this adjustment the feeding mechanism operates` on. the same level as with the first set of rolls. By hav ing a feed `which may be vertically adjusted, rolls off still different-sizesv can be substituted in this stand by mounting the lower one of them'inlthe position of shaft 12, without changing its position as shown in Fig. 3, and by mounting the upper roll one set of notches below the position of roll 11 as illustrated. The rolls which could be so mounted would be between the larger and smaller sizesabove referred to.

In order to secure the continuous exact registry of Virregular forming grooves in the surfaces of they rolls it isnecessary to`have the two roll shafts positively connected to each other. I have shown the roll shaft 12 as drivenrby the pulley 26. The other end of the roll shaft 12 is extended, and keyed thereon is a` gear wheel 34, which meshes with and drives` a gear y35, whichinturn drives a similar .gear 36,. which inturn drives a similargear 37 fixed on shaft 13 of the upper roll. Bythispositive connection continuous synchronism in revolution of the rolls is insured.

In order to permit the use of rolls of different sizes in the same stand, as above described, I mount the gears 35 and 36'on stub shafts 35ZL and 362L respectively, which 'are slidably carried in horizontal waysv 38 and 39, in extensions 40 of the verticalframe members f4'. Referring to Fig. 1, when smaller rolls are substituted, thereby drawing the shafts 12 and 13 closer together, the gears 35 and4 36 are simply moved outward the required distance to permit the bringing together Aof, shafts 12 and 13, and then clamped in'that position. The result is simply to change the position of the fonrgears, without in any way changing their positive interdriving relations.

In order to secure proper. registering of the foigining grooves in the faces cf the rolls itis necessary to accurately adjust vthe rolls as to circumferential relation thereof. This is done by turning the upper roll 11 to the required position relative to the lower roll, and locking it therein. In order to effect the necessary final and very accurate adjust ment I provide special means. comprising a sleeve 41, which is fixed on the outer end of shaft 13by a key. A circular iiange or web 43 extends from the sleeve 41. and this web has bolt holes therethrough with bolts 44 therein, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. The

"is being fedrto the rolls.

web also has a 'concentric segmental slot 45, as shown i'nFig.` At each end of this slot there is a projection orrraised lug 46, through which there is a threaded hole in which is mounted a setscrew 47.

YDriving gear wheel 37 for the shaft 13 has l a large central opening 48, adaptedto t loosely over the sleeve 41. The web 49 of this wheel has curved concentric slots 50 adapted t0 receive bolts 44 above described. and a raised lug l51 adapted to extend through'the curved slot '45 in web 43, when the gear wheel is placedin position on the sleeve 41, as shown in Fig. 7. In this posi- Vtion the adjusting screws 47 are adapted to bear upon the sides of lug 51, and byadvancing one screw and retracting the other, the lug may be adjusted to any desired position within `the limits of its travel in slot 45. Consequently, with the sleeve 41 keyed `on shaft 13, by loosening bolts 44, to permit relative rotation ofthe gear wheel 37 and sleeve 41 and by advancing one screw 47 and retracting the other, the roll 17 may be turned, without movement of its driving gear wheel 37 and thefupper roll may be very accurately adjusted .relative t0 Vlthe lower roll andlockedin position. When this position is determined, and fixed by `means vofthe said screws." bolts 44 areagain operates with ya similar feed roll 59, as shown.y at the left of Fig. 1. A frame GO supports all of themeinbers just above referredto,v and is itself lmounted on `the concrete foundation 1. yieldingly held by coil sp-ringl, so as to maintain a grip on the metal stock` which Fig. 2 diagrainmatically represents means for controlling the speed of motor M. and consequently of the feedrolls 53 and l59. 'to correspond to variations inthe cross section of the finished article being formedby rolls 10 and 11. lInthis diagram A. represents the armature and F represents the field of electric motor M, above referred to.

shaft "12 or '13, at any convenient point, and rotatingtherewith. Illat'e P is made "of insulating material and carries on its erposedfface segmental niet-alstrips'C, D, ami Irl-,and Van outer annular strip B. A wire The upper roll 59 is represents a circular plate mounted on either G leads from the armature A to the continuous conductor ring B, and wire H leads fromfthe other pole of armature A throughr the field F to the segmental contact strip C, with which it is .adapted to be connected by a brush J. Branches L and K lead from wire H to Contact brushes M and N, adapted to connect with the segmental contact segments D and E respectively, during certain parts of a revolution of the plate 1). r he circular contact B is permanently connected to the segmental contact C, which in turn has permanent connections to contact segments D and E. rllhe connection K includes a resistance element, and the connection L includes a greater resistance element, while in the continuous wire H there is no resistance.

1n electric motors of the type shown weakening theiield circuit causes the motor to speed up, as is well known. Consequently, by running the eld current of the motor M through the wire H', as is the case when the brush J is in contact with strip C, the motor will tend to travelat its lowest speed, there being no resistance in the field. As the strip C passes out of contact with brush J, the brush M will make contact with strip D, and resistance K will be thrown into the field circuit, immediately increasing the speed of the motor. Likewise when brush M breaks its contact with strip D, and brush N connects with strip E, the full resistance L will be thrown into the field circuit, and the speed of the motor will be further increased. l1t will be vunderstood that the control illustrated diagrammatically in Fig. 2 is intended for the rolling of a shape having a comparatively long small part, such as the handle of a crowbar, then a shorter enlarged portion, then a still further shorter enlarged portion. The result is to overfeed the roll during the formation of the heavy part of the finished article, and to underfeed it during the formation of the smaller part of the finished article. For rolling aeroplane braces and similar shapes there would be but two changes of speed, and those very slight, since the cross-sectional area vvaries but slightly in such work.

1n connection with Fig. l I have shown a supplementary electric heating arrange-v ment, comprising a generator R one pole of which is connected by wire S to the frame 3 of the finishing rolls; the other pole being connected by wire to the frame 60 of the feed rolls. rllhe concrete foundation will ordinarily furnish suiiicient insulation between the two metal roll frames, but if desired the frame 60 may be mounted on a nbre mat TO and the bolts holding the frame to the concrete suitably insulated in well known manner. Also the wires S and T may be connected to the rolls l() and 59 direct by brushes on the shafts. But ordinarily this is not necessary.

Current will thus flow from the feed rolls to the finishing rolls through the metal vstock land that portion of it between the rolls 10 and 59 will be heated thereby. This reheating feature is of value where very small bars are being rolled, thus offsetting the tendency of such small bars to cool rapidly.

By the construction and arrangement above described I provide a roll stand in which finishing rolls of various sizes may be mounted, the change being easily made. Also means for positively driving both rolls of the pair by a geare connection, which insures continuous registering of the roll faces in a definite relation to each other. Also adjustable means for turning one of the rolls without removing it from its bearings, to secure proper initial registering of the surfaces; and also means for varying the feed during a part of each revolution of the finishing rolls. The many uses and advantages of these features will be apparent to those familiar with the art.

I claim:

l. A roll stand comprising a base and two pairs of vertical parallel members rising therefrom, and journal bearing supports adapted to be attached to the vertical members at different points vertically, whereby to mount pairs of rolls of different sizes the same frame.

2. A roll stand comprising two pairs of vertical parallel members, the members of each pair being provided on their inner faces with oppositely positioned roll supports arranged to carry pairs of rolls of different sizes with their faces in contact.

3. A roll frame comprising two pairs of parallel upright members, the members of each pair having co-operating notches therein, and cross members adapted to fit into said notches tosupport roll journal boxes thereon, said notches being provided at different elevations to support pairs of rolls of diilerent sizes.

4. A frame for supporting finishing rolls having geared drive wheels and intermediate connecting gear wheels, comprising vertical supporting members having means to carry aid rolls at different heights, a horizontal member attached to the upright members adapted to carry the intermediate gear wheels and to permit the adjustment of said gear wheels at various distances from the vertical frame, whereby to move the said intermediate gear wheels out of the path of the gear wheels on the shafts of the finishing rolls, when said rolls are raised or lowered.

5. A frame for housinhr ofear driven finishing rollsV comprising vertical members having means for supporting rolls at various heights therein, and a horizontal member attached to the frame and adapted to carry a supplementary gear wheel connecting the driving gear of the finishing rolls.

6. A frame for finishing rolls comprising vertical supporting members, means to support rolls at different heights in the iframe, shafts Carrying said rolls, gear Wheels on said shafts, intermediate gear Wheels meshing with each other and With the gear Wheels on the roll shafts, and means to move the shafts of said intermediate gear Wheels horizontally With respect to the supporting frame, whereby to permit the raising and lowering of the finishing rolls therein.

7. The combination with finishing rolls of a vertical supporting fra-me for the rolls, said iframe being adapted to support in operative position pairs of rolls of different sizes, said rolls having operatively connected thereto driving gears, a horizontal frame attached to the main frame and carrying thereon intermediate gears meshing with each other and with the driving gears of the rolls, said intermediate wheels being mounted in the horizontal frame so as to be slidable therein.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

GEORGE BAEHR. 

